


A Moment's Peace

by seimaisin



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caretaking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8163119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seimaisin/pseuds/seimaisin
Summary: Post Episode 67. Written for a prompt: Helping the other bathe/washing their clothes/armour - taking care of them when they are tired and/or hurt.
Percy needs a little caring for, and perhaps Vex needs to do a little caring.





	

When they get into Scanlan’s mansion, Vex shoves Percy towards the basement. “You. Bath. Now.”

He tries to resist. “My workshop. I need -”

“You need a bath. And a million hours of sleep, but I know that’s not going to happen right now. So you need to sit in the hot springs and not think for a little while.”

Percy laughs, more than a little bitterly. “I can’t afford not to think. I need - I need to -”

“You need to stop.” Vex pulls him to the top of the stairs, then halts them both. “Seriously. I am going to make Keyleth turn earth elemental and sit in front of the door to your workshop if you even think about going over there right now. Your face is almost the same color as your hair. Your hands are shaking. You are scaring the ever-loving shit out of me right now, Percival, and if you don’t go bathe, wash the blood and grime away, and take a few deep breaths, I’m going to shoot you and drag you down there myself.”

He hasn’t noticed - hasn’t seen anything beyond his own terror, beyond wrecks and water and Ripley, his biggest mistake, the worst case scenario - but Vex looks just as frightened as he is. But it’s not the same sort of fright. Her wide eyes cut deep into him, making his stomach churn even more than it already is. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you.”

“Don’t apologize. Just do what I’m telling you. Go.” With that, she shoves him down the first step; he stumbles, but rights himself before he falls any further. She slams the door behind him.

He could disobey. Most of him wants to - there’s so much to do, so many ideas jumbled up in his head, nothing yet clear enough to deal with the problem at hand. But that, more than anything, tells him he needs to follow Vex’s orders. He needs a clearer mind. He needs to stop and think. He needs …

(He needs to erase that terror from her eyes, to let her know that she’ll be alright - that he’ll be alright, because that’s what she needs to know. And he doesn’t know that part, not at all, but if this small gesture will ease her mind, then he’ll do it. He can solve one small problem, at least.)

So, he goes to the hot springs and sheds his clothing. When he slides into the water, his muscles just give way - the tension that’s been holding him together starts to unravel, and he starts to feel every ache and pain the last few days have brought. He finds himself curling into a ball on the bench and leaning his head against the side of the pool. His body hurts, his head hurts, he can’t let himself think, because thinking brings memories, and memories bring … 

Percy dozes off. He doesn’t mean to, but the next thing he knows, he hears a soft shuffling sound behind his head. He raises his head and looks around, blinking. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” Vex says softly.

When he focuses, Percy sees her sitting cross-legged on the floor, his coat draped over her legs. She’s scrubbing at a blood stain with a rug. “Vex,” he says, his tongue feeling thick and slow, “you don’t have to …”

“The servants have the rest of your clothes,” she tells him. “I wanted to do this. It’s … calming, I guess. Something to do while I sit here and make sure you don’t drown yourself.” When he opens his mouth again, she lifts a finger to her lips, smiling. “Don’t. I don’t mind. And for the record, Keyleth’s been down here three times since you fell asleep to check on you. I think my brother finally dragged her off to bed.”

“I’m glad, she needs sleep. And so do you.”

Vex rolls her eyes. “My nerves won’t let me sleep, not for a while.”

“I didn’t think mine would either. And yet …” Percy pushes himself to stand. “I may yet drown if I stay in here any longer. Do I actually have any clothing down here, or are you going to force me to walk to my room naked?”

The grin Vex gives him warms him far more than the water has - far more than it should. “I should say ‘yes,’ just to appreciate the view. But Keyleth did bring a change of clothes. They’re right over there.” 

He follows her pointed finger, and finds his sleep clothes folded neatly on the side of the spring, along with a towel. He climbs out and dries himself, careful not to look back at Vex - he doesn’t want to know if she’s watching, doesn’t know if his body would embarrass him if she was. He doesn’t turn back until he’s fully dressed. She’s still sitting by the wall, scrubbing at his coat. Her eyes are downcast, but Percy thinks her cheeks might be a little pink, and there’s a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. He walks over and holds out his hand. “Give it here. I can take care of it in the morning.”

“It’s almost done. I don’t mind.”

“Vex.” 

When she looks up at him, something clenches inside his chest. Behind the casual teasing, he can see something wavering, something all too familiar. “I’m not ready to calm down just yet,” she says softly.

“Maybe you need a bath,” he suggests. “It’s highly relaxing, I can tell you from experience.”

She laughs. “Maybe.”

“Go on. I’ll keep watch for any drowning incidents. It’s the least I can do.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Vex hands him the coat, and uses his hand to pull herself up to standing. If their hands linger in each other’s grasp, neither mentions it. “Fine,” she says. “Maybe just a few minutes.”

Percy slides down the wall and sits in her former spot. He tries very hard not to watch her undress. (He fails. By the look she gives him as she slides into the water, he doesn’t think she minds.)

He takes a deep breath, and something terrible exits his body on the exhale. His demons - literal and figurative - aren’t here right now. _She_ isn’t here. It’s just Percy - whatever he is now, whatever is left of him. And a woman who makes him think he might be more than his fears; a woman who is most certainly much more than her own. 

It’s not enough - it can’t be enough, not for what they have yet to face - but for the moment, it feels like it might be. Someday.


End file.
